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Throughout the history of Latin America, the ideal Latin American has shifted and changed. From period to period the heros and regular citizens embody different ideals. Perceptions of the 'perfect man' or 'perfect woman' shift with the values of the time. Heroes of each period embodied some values while shirking others for the greater good of Latin America as a whole. On this Wiki page we will be focusing on these cultural and social changes in this region. We will be answering the question: What are the ideal characteristics of a Latin American and how have perceptions changed over time? The Encounter At the time of the European conquest of the Americas, there was no unified sense of Latin American identity. What existed there was a clash of very different cultures -- the Iberian and the indigenous. Thus, the ideal characteristics of a man or woman varied depending on the culture to which an individual belonged. From the European perspective, Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes could be seen as the model to be emulated. Cortes overthrew the Aztec empire by creating alliances with other tribes and capturing the emperor Moctezuma. The Spaniards' superior weapons technology would have been viewed as military strength by the Europeans. The strength, diplomacy, and courage that the Europeans believed Cortes to possess paint a clear picture of the ideal European man at the time. Additionally, successful conquistadors were given encomiendas by the Spanish crown. They received large plots of land to manage and were "entrusted" with indigenous people for workers. The fact that the encomiendas were given as rewards shows that leadership ability was also highly valued in European men. In order to use the indigenous people for labor, the encomenderos were responsible for converting them to Christianity. Religiously, the ideal European of the time was a devout Christian. Christianity was of great importance to the Europeans because it could be used to justify the conquest of indigenous groups. Colonial Crucible The three century epoch following the conquest of Latin America is prodigiously characterized as a period of hegemonic rule, which in effect tiggered the phenomena of transculturation. Religious hegemony, specifically in Catholicism, was the primary weapon of choice during colonization. This idea largely took shape in the form of patriarchy. In a patriarchial society, there is a distinct social status pyramid. The bottom of this pyramid consisted of the indigenous people, the poor, and women, no matter their social status. These women were subjected to the effects of the patriarchy of their time. This partriarchial society viewed women as unfit candidates for leaders in the public eye. However, some women still found ways to influence the Latin American society. After the conquest of Latin America, Spain and Portugal ruled over the land and people for three centuries. Rulers had dreamt of a place where the King and God were cherished. However, what they received was resentment from the start because Latin Americans wanted a future of independence. After time, citizens of the Latin American countries became accustom to the Catholic faith and developed respect for their rulers. One outstanding individual at this time that helped shape womens right and go against the norm, at an early stage, was Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz (1648 - 1695). Sor Juana's early life was remarkable, she was a bright child ahead of her time. When the University of Mexico had opened she had announced that she wanted to attend at the age of seven. But during this era, women did not have the option of attending universities because the education would be "over their head." Women were cornered with only two options for their life: Devote the rest of her life to the Catholic faith as a nun, or devote the rest of her life to a husband and children, through marriage. Sor Juana chose the life of a nun, seeing that there was more room for independence in a convent than in marriage. this is when she was finally able to spread her wings and show all of Latin America how equal women can be in comparison to men. Her poetry was philosophical and critiqued the judgement of women's sexual ethics by men. Sor Juana colleceted her own library and read hundres of books, expanding her knowledge and curiosity of who really sinned more, men or women? In the beginning Sor Juana was able to fly under the radar of patriarchy because she was a woman of God. She took care of God's children and held on to her chastity, making her an "ideal woman" in the eyes of the church. However, at the peak of Sor Juana's greatness, the fathers of her church grew worried of her quick rise in influence and denounced her actions as unnatural for a woman, other than her religious devotion. Unfortunately, this put an end to Sor Juana's primitive insight on a potential womens rights movement, but she is still a renowned "ideal" Latin American because of her actions, in-depth poetry, and inquieries that defended womens rights for education. All women during this time were persecuted and prosecuted. Women were expect to follow a code of honor which was a measure of how well they played their prescribed role in society. Women who went against this belief were violently punished for their independent minds. Women were seen as suspicious if they were living alone, whether it be as a widow or just a single woman. In the eyes of the church, which speaks on behalf of the citizens, the ideal woman was a quiet, clean, godly, and maternal figure. This was made a reality through the essence of the Virgin of Guadalupe, one of the most noticeable fabrications of transculturation because of her previous appearance on a sight sacred to the Aztecs. Although the Virgin of Guadalupe is a saint brought over by the Europeans, she is sometimes depicted with a darker complexion. This darker coloration drew a similarity among the indigenous to their earth goddess, Tonantzin. Therefore, the Nahuatl-speaking Mexicans began to relate to the European religion which made implementing Christianity with Spanish rule easier. Colonization was a social, cultural, and psychological change that all Latin Americans had to endure through transculturation. Yet, transculturation was not only a blessing to Latin Americans and the European rulers, it was also a curse. Since transculturation and hegemony went hand in hand, bringing the rise of social patriachy about as a result, then social heiarchy was destined to follow. Transculturation doesn't necessarily involve the mixing of races, but it was very prominent in Latin America's history. The predominant social ladder consisted of Europeans at the top, Indigenous in the middle, and the Africans at the bottom, but the hybridization of races added more social classes to the three-rung ladder. The emergence of creoles, peninsulares, and mestizos brought forth a lot of social pressure for all classes because interaction between classes was the cause of racial mixing, and would be the collapse of inequality and the caste system in Latin America. By the 1800s many colonial rebellions all across Latin America were materializing due to the rising tensions of the pressure put on the colonial heiarchy. Consequently the fight for independence begins to take its place. Independence During the early 1800s Latin America underwent major political, social and economic changes. It was clear that the need to be free of European constraint was growing. Those that stand out in history are the ones with bravery, charisma and machismo to lead others in revolt. Men from this time period such as Father Miguel Hidalgo, Simon Bolivar, Agustin I, and many more can be viewed today as being ideal Latin Americans because they obtained those characteristics of a strong leader. Father Miguel Hidalgo (May 8, 1753 - July 30, 1811) was a preist who had a large impact as a leader in the Independence Movement which began the Mexican War for Independence. Agustin de Iturbide (September 27, 1783 - July 19, 1824) was world renown for the part that he played in the Mexican Revolution for independence. Mexico was a Spanish territory and the lives of all the indigenous were being controlled by the followers of the Spanish king. Many small revolts broke out and one was lead by Agustin. He easily inspired a large following of Mexican citizens, however, his revolt was eventually crushed by Spanish forces. Although he was not immediately sucessful, Agustin still was able to inspire a strong following from his fellow citizens. His charismatic traits and ere of confidence made him the type of person that could rally a revolt and that people desired to have as a leader. When Mexico eventually gained independence, Agustin was able to declare himself emperor (May 19, 1822 - March 19, 1823). He was briefly removed from office because he was accused of having corruptions in his office. However, he was soon returned to a military reign after he insisted repeatedly that his predecessors were sacrilegious. His gift for speaking was one of the most important traits of Latin Americans during a time when the main focus was achieveing independence. Postcolonial Blues After gaining independence, many Latin American people turned their attention to the search for liberty and equality. There were high hopes for true democracy and a new government, but in the end, constitution after constitution and fight after fight dominated the countries of Latin America. The newly made governments remained very unstable during this time. Many people wondered how much trust to place in their new governing bodies because it had taken so much time for even the King to gain loyalty. The stratification of the Latin American people based on their political views led to the beginning of the Liberal and Conservative political parties. While many Latin Americans started out this time period calling for a liberalized government, soon many had fallen back into the conservative group because of the allure of their traditional values. Progress Between 1850 and 1890, Latin America gained substantial progress. This period was heavily influenced by the struggles between Conservatives and Liberals. Liberal families tended to move around a lot while Conservatives were often more stationary with a long lasting family status. Conservatives often tried to fight the changes of progress but in the end lost. During this time of progress, a heavy European influence was seen. With it brought modern amenities such as electricity, railroads, and telegraphs. Railroads were a key symbol in Latin America's progress. Latin Americans were connected to parts of the country that had not been accessible to them before. While this seems great, it also brought with it even more dependency on other countries, particularly in Europe. In this time we start to see the very apparent class struggles, and the wealth gap between the two. The ideal Latin American in this time would accept the European influence, but would hold true to their Latin American roots. Large landowners were benefited by the progress of Latin Amercia. Rural workers on the other hand ended up becoming more impoverished due to the lack of freedom to farm as they pleased. This often forced them to become workers on the large plantations that oversaw everything they did. Slaves who were freed also had many struggles socially. While they lived in the poverty areas of larger cities, so did new immigrants from Europe. This caused friction and some considered the new immigrants a threat to the middle class. Benito Juarez shows that the people of Latin America could in fact succeed if enough effort was put towards it, but he left his old identity behind him. While this was typical of the time, it was not what the people of the Latin American countries would want. He became a symbol that through progress, you could become something much better, but you would have to leave your former self behind. These themes just continue the past and future themes, where the Latin Americans become more and more dependent on others, instead of just accepting themselves and working towards a common goal of the people. Women also gained substantial progress during this period. The ideal Latin American woman Neocolonialism The Neocolonial period saw the United States and the United Kingdom rise as dominating influences in Latin America. The United States was a big influence on both trade and politics in Latin America. Under this heavy-handed influence, Latin Americans felt that the United States did not have their best interests at heart, despite claims otherwise. However, Latin America during this period also found itself to be dependent on foreign countries such as the US and England, due to its heavy export economy. Between these factors, Latin Americans began to resent the United States and their perceived domination. As a result of this, while the ideal Latin American remained much the same, the values that Latin Americans appreciated shifted, and Latin Americans began to support those who fit Latin American ideals, rather than US or European ideals. This led to a new surge of popular mestizo individuals, as well as resounding support for those who spoke out against United States interference in Latin America. The mestizo's talent was derived by their writing opportunities. Unlike the United States the mestizos faced less racial prejudice. A lot of people could read in Argentina and Uraguay, people in Uraguay were some of the most literate people and because of this they could study architecture, agronomy, and medicine. However, the favorite was law. The money for education was provided by the great export boom, which enriched the land owners at the expense of rural poor. Nationalism Nationalism, put simply, is a movement in which people of a country band together for the further advancement of the nation as a whole, and don't focus on each person on an individual basis. "For nations to be united internally, they have to know who they are; they need a clear and positive sense of national identity" (Chasteen 217). The nationalist movement in Latin America stemmed from the disagreements between the Creoles and the Peninsulares. Most of the new nationalists were middle-class, mestizo people, as well as some people of much higher or lower socioeconomic statuses as well. Nationalist supporters ranged everywhere from the lowest class, full of mestizo people to the very highest class people such as Vargas. These people were brought together to band against imperialism and the foreign influence in Latin America that was present through the economy and military presence. Throughout this time, many artists and writers illustrated Mexican nationalism through paintings and stories that spread worldwide and shed light on what was occurring in Latin America at this time. Some of the most influential artists included Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera and one of the most influential authors was Jorge Amado. The machismo and marianismo qualities held by these people illustrate the changes in the ideal Latin American person over the Nationalist period of Latin America's history. "Nationalists did not take power everywhere in Latin America, but nationalism showed its political potency even where it did not rule. In many countries conservatives managed to co-opt nationalist influences or hold them in check (Chasteen 232). That was the case for places like Colombia and Venezuela, where nationalist reform had to wait. But in other places in Latin America, nationalism shined, places like Mexico. In Mexico, with the Revolution in full swing, the Constitution of 1917 showed nationalist inspiration. "Article 27 reclaimed for the nation all mineral rights, for instance to oil. It also paved the way for villages to recover common lands (called ejidos and for great estates to be subdivided and distributed to landless peasants" (Chasteen 224). The Constitution of 1917 also put into play protections such as wage and hour laws, pensions and social benefits. As well as limiting the privileges of foreigners and curbed the rights of the Catholic Church. The Revolution - which had been going on for seven decades - had been a profoundly formative national experience. With a new government in place, major improvements were happeing in Mexico. A road-building program was put into place as well as improvements to public education, reducing the country's 80 percent illiteracy rate. Then came the 1920's and 1930's, the nationalism of Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo was widely shared in Mexico at this time. "Everything national had become fashionable - folk music (corridos) and dance (jarabes), traditional dishes (tamales and moles), old-style street theater (carpas), and artisan objects" (Chasteen 227). Nationalism was shown all around in Mexico but far away in Argentina and Uruguay, nationalism was different. Argentina and Uruguay were urbanized, literate and mainly middle-class, here nationalism was stronger. So in Argentina and Uruguay nationalists took over without revolution, and Uruguay had one of the most progressive governments around. In comes to play Uruguay's great nationalist reformer Jose Batlle y Ordonez who launched a reform movement known as Batllismo. Batllismo was more of a civic and economic nationalism that brought a great level of government involvement to the Uruguayan economy. "Uruguay became the hemisphere's first welfare state, complete with a minimum wage, regulated working conitions, accident insurance, paid holidays, and retirement benefits" (Chasteen 228). "Nationalism made the most striking changes when stable governments were able to combine mass mobilization with economic transformation. That transformation involved a rejection of the basic neocolonial model of export-oriented economic growth, which brings us to the Great Depression" (Chasteen 233). Nationalist movements throughout Latin America were energized by The Great Depression of the 1930's which saw neocolonialism subside to nationalism. As the 1930's progressed ISI (import-substitution industrialization) began to occur which gave the nationalist critics of economic imperialism a persuasive case against the old import/export trade. Now as Latin American idustrial production increased, so did the nationalists pride for industrialization. As far as nationalist politics in Brazil, Getulio Vargas was a hero in his own right. Getulio Vargas - who some called the Franklin D. Roosevelt of Brazil - first period in office was in 1930 - 1945, then later returned for a total of nineteen years as Brazilian president. "Vargas, like FDR, made famous the use of the radio and vastly expanded the national government" (Chasteen 236). Revolution The revolutionary time period in Latin America saw huge changes in the perception of what made an ideal Latin American. Everyday Latin Americans elected officials that embodied nationalist ideals, such as Jacobo Arbenz. They revered populist President Juan Perón and his wife Evita. To them, the ideal Latin American did not revolt and did not use violence to achieve their ideals. Revolutionaries, however, looked up to heroes like Che Guevara, Fidel Castro, and Tania. To them, those that did not revolt were less than ideal. They saw the way the poor people of the region were living and decided that anyone who could see their lives and not be motivated to action was not a true Latin American. Latin Americans were those who worked for decent standards of living for all. In this section we will discuss what made an ideal Latin American during the revolutionary period of Latin American history and analyze what made this ideal person different from the ideal people of other periods in history. The term Revolution is described as a forcible overthrow of a government or social order for a new system. This is apparent in every culture over the course of time as it is in Latin American History. There has been many revolutionary men that have made their mark in history, this paragraph will go through a few of those men. *Toussaint L'Ovuverture (May 20,1743- April 7, 1803) - Toussaint was the leader of the Haitian Revolution where a bunch of slaves took back what was their's and claimed their nation. His military intellegience led a society of slaves into a self governing people and allowed them a life with little oppression. Toussaint's impact did not just effect his situation but it also impacted the institution of slavery all over the " New World". He is a perfect example of a heroic Latin American man. *Father Hidalgo (May 8, 1753- July 30, 1811) - Miguel Hidalgo was a Mexican priest who was the inspiration and leader of the Mexican War of Independence. He incouraged the indiginous people to take back what was theirs from the Spanish. He showed the locals how to grow their own Olives and Grapes which was frowned upon because these were imported goods. Father Hidalgo wanted to teach the people to be self sustaining not only by his powerful words but by his actions which is a key characteristic of a heroic Latin American man. * * Reaction The reactionary period in Latin America was a very bloody one. Countries prone to revolution and even some that were relatively docile compared to other countries were quickly taken over by military control to prevent any sort of Communist revolution. The United States played a large part in the military take over of these countries. US president John F Kennedy, in 1961, announced the "Alliance for Progress" which was meant to relieve some of the revolutionary pressures in Latin American countries. To acheive the goals of the plan, the US would supply foreign aid to countries that showed signs of revolutionary tendencies, in an attempt to increase the standard of living and ease the strong feelings of the working class. Some of these countries were Brazil, Cuba, Argentina, Uruguay, and Chile. The Alliance for Progress was a reaction to the Cuban revolution, but ultimately lost its momentum because the costs amounted to much more than supplying guns and counterinsurgency training. Various Latin American generals saw Communism as an inevitable change if nothing was actively done to prevent it. These generals began hunting down "internal enemies" who were anyone that could present a threat to democracy. The citizens of these Latin American countries began reacting to the military rule by strong opposition and rebellion. In Brazil, landowners fought hard against land reform. In 1978, there was a massive strike of workers in São Paulo that represented opposition to the military's regressive social policies. In many instances of the Cold War in Latin America, women were very prominent. In the late 1970s, women, called Las Madres de la Plaza de Mayo, protested in downtown Buenos Aires in order to avenge their chil dren that "disappeared" in the midst of Argentina's dirty war. They didn't want Argentina to simply get away with the horrible events that took place. Rigoberta Menchú was a Quiché Mayan woman from a traditonal community who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1992 for calling world attention to the digusting nature of Guatemala's dirty war. And, many women fought in the FMLN in Salvador. Latin American women were beginning to stand up for what they believed in and represented the new, courageous actions of typical Latin American citizens. During this period the ideal Latin American would be people such as the Las Madres de la Plaza de Mayo. They were ordinary people fighting for what they beleived in. With all the violence that was taking place during this time they managed to stay peacful and work for a cause that they felt very strongly about because they had been personally affected. Their ability to protest brought attention to many problems that were accuring in the Latin American government and initiated a change. Neoliberalism With both the revolution and reaction time periods over, Latin America was left with a high death count that was largely blamed on nationalism. This gave Neoliberalism to gain popularity during the 1990s. Neoliberalism was largely based on the United State's ideas for free trade, exports, and comparative advantage. Because free market was encouraged, state-run programs were immediately ended. Programs which once helped the poor buy affordable food and other public services were never to be seen again. Latin America also began importing American products and technology for low prices. These American products ended up only being used by the middle class and rich since they were, once again, the only groups that benifited during this time period. The neoliberal system was clearly no longer working for the majority or Latin Americans. Although the poor of Latin America understood they were not being benefited by this system, there was nothing they could do because they had non power in the government. Finally in 1992, an ex-military commander was elected president of Venezuela who claimed would represent the poor (Chasteen 338). Hugo Chavez realized how mistreated the poor were and watched out for their best intrests. The lower-class citizens of Venezuela finally had a voice. Many people doubted Chavez saying that once he took office, powerful government officials would pressure him to revert back to old neoliberal policies (Escobar). This was a very logical doubt to have since Venezuela is one of the world's largest oil suppliers, especially to the United States. This means the US will once again pressure Venezuela to let them take control of the oil. Practically every opponent Chavez must face is a right-winged, neoliberal that is an advocate of US interests. These opponents recieve an abundance of funding and control the media so they can print slanderous articles about Chavez. Luckily for Venezuela, Chavez held strong to his original ideas which were very against neoliberalism. Because of this, the Venezuelan lower class repaid him with devout loyalty. The middle class however, doesn't share these same ideals and finds Chavez domineering. Chavez even had to face a coup attempt in 2002, but in the end Chavez prevailed and the supporters trusted him even more (Chasteen 338). Even though many factors were not on his side, he still continues to improve Venezuela. While he has been in office unemployment has gone from 20% to 7%, 22 new universities were built, and illiteracy was eradicated in Venezuela. Overall, Chavez's anti-neoliberal government seemed to be working out great, which is why surrounding Latin American countries also began to turn away from neoliberalism. (add other country's info here) Hugo Chavez was the catalyst for a new movement in Latin America, a movement where everyone in a society is benefited rather than just the rich, which is why Chavez encompasses the qualities present-day Latin Americans strive to achieve.